Office Build-Out Contractor in Portland, Oregon
“Exceeded our expectations.” Animal Care Center Veterinary Clinic, Salem, clinic renovation
“Professional, competitively priced, with excellent communication.” MK Phelps, primary care clinic build-out
Modern Northwest builds out office suites for companies that lease space in Portland, the west side and Southwest Washington. We take a suite as the landlord hands it over, whether that is an empty shell or an old layout that no longer fits, and turn it into finished offices: walls, doors, ceilings, lighting, power and data, HVAC changes, restrooms, break rooms and finishes. We pull the permit, keep the building running around us, and hand you a space your team can move into. In Portland a lot of that space sits in older buildings in the Pearl District, the Lloyd District and the Central Eastside, where the job means reworking an existing floor plate, not starting from a blank one. Developing or repositioning a whole office building instead of one suite? See our Class A office construction page.
Recent Office Work in the Portland Metro
- Axletree, Milwaukie: a 1,900 square foot spec office suite on SE 21st Ave, design-build, in progress for late 2026.
- Elevate Towers, Hillsboro: updated lobbies in Tower I and Tower II on Cornelius Pass Road, plus a ground-floor spec suite in Tower II, design-build.
- Orenco Family Medicine, Hillsboro: a 5,618 square foot doctors office build-out in Tower 2 of the same complex, finished January 2026.
- LifeStance Health, Hillsboro: an office renovation for a behavioral health practice, early 2026.
- LifeStance Health, Vancouver WA: an office refresh, late 2025.
- Who runs it: project managers like Allen Murray, 36 years in construction from small tenant improvements to $150 million developments, and superintendents like Tony Rieger, OSHA 10/30 certified.
What an Office Build-Out Includes
Layout and Walls
Private offices, open work areas, conference rooms, reception and storage, framed and finished to your floor plan. If the suite has an old layout, we demo what does not work and keep what does.
Ceilings, Lighting and Power
Grid ceilings, new light fixtures and controls, and power where the desks actually go. Office lighting has to meet the Oregon or Washington energy code, so we plan the fixtures with that in mind instead of fixing it at inspection.
Data and Low Voltage
Cabling runs for desks, conference rooms, printers and access control, coordinated with your IT vendor before the walls close up.
HVAC and Plumbing Changes
New walls change how air moves, so ducts and returns usually get reworked. Break rooms and added restrooms bring plumbing with them. These two trades are where an office build-out budget most often moves, so we price them from a walkthrough, not a guess.
Restrooms and Accessibility
Restrooms, door hardware, counter heights and the path through the suite have to meet ADA and the building code. See how many restrooms a commercial space needs.
Spec Suites for Landlords
We also build speculative office suites, finished before a tenant signs, like the Axletree suite in Milwaukie and the ground-floor suite at Elevate Towers. A move-in ready suite is easier to lease.
What Does an Office Build-Out Cost?
It depends on how finished you want the space and what condition the landlord delivers it in. An empty shell costs far more to build out than a second-generation suite that already has ceilings, lighting, HVAC and restrooms.
We keep the published per-square-foot ranges, what sits inside each finish level, and how shell condition changes the number in one place, our tenant improvement cost guide. Your real number comes from a walkthrough of the actual suite.
Check the tenant improvement allowance in your lease before you sign. It often does not cover the whole build-out, and the gap is yours unless you negotiate it.
Orenco Family Medicine, Hillsboro
A 5,618 square foot build-out inside an existing office tower, finished in January 2026. Our superintendent Tony Rieger and project manager Justin Stangel ran the job.
See the ProjectHow an Office Build-Out Runs
Walkthrough Before You Sign
Walk the suite with us before the lease is final. We tell you what the space needs and roughly what it will cost, so the allowance and the move-in date in your lease are realistic.
Design and Pricing
We work from your designer or architect, or run the job design-build like the Axletree and Elevate suites. You get a price tied to a floor plan, not an allowance figure.
Permit
In Portland an office build-out is a commercial tenant improvement permit through Portland Permitting & Development (PP&D). If the suite was something else before, like retail, the change of occupancy gets its own code review, and storefront or exterior changes can need Design Review or Historic Resource Review in some parts of the city. Outside Portland we pull the permit with your city building department.Plan review can be one of the longer waits in a small build-out, so it starts early.
Build Around the Building
Most office suites sit in occupied buildings. We schedule noisy work, protect the common areas and keep the neighbors running, which is how the Elevate lobbies were updated in two working towers.
Inspections and Move-In
Final inspections, punch list and closeout, then you move in. We plan the finish date backward from your lease start so you are not paying rent on a space you cannot use.
Office Build-Out Questions, Answered
What is an office build-out?
It is the construction that turns a leased suite into finished offices: walls, doors, ceilings, lighting, power and data, HVAC changes, restrooms, break rooms and finishes. Furniture and IT equipment are usually separate.
How much does an office build-out cost?
It depends on the finish level and the condition the landlord delivers the suite in. Our tenant improvement cost guide lists the published per-square-foot ranges. Your real number comes from a walkthrough of the actual suite.
Who pays for an office build-out?
Usually the landlord gives a tenant improvement allowance and the tenant pays anything above it. The allowance often does not cover the whole job, so price the build-out before you sign the lease.
Does an office build-out need a permit?
Most do. In Portland it is a commercial tenant improvement permit through Portland Permitting & Development, with an extra code review if the suite is changing occupancy, like retail to office. We handle the plan review and pull the permit wherever your suite is.
Can you build out a suite in an occupied building?
Yes. Most office suites are in occupied buildings. We schedule the noisy work and protect the common areas so the other tenants keep working.
Do you build spec suites for landlords?
Yes. We built the ground-floor spec suite at Elevate Towers in Hillsboro and are building a 1,900 square foot spec suite for Axletree in Milwaukie, both finished before a tenant signs.
Related Services
Serving the Portland metro, including Portland, OR, Beaverton, OR, and Vancouver, WA. See our full service areas in Oregon and Washington.
Planning an Office Build-Out?
Tell us where the suite is and when you need to move in. We will set up a walkthrough.
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